Do I need a city permit to replace the wood floor in my shop?

Not for the floor itself. Pompano Beach's flooring checklist says commercial spaces and single-family homes don't need a permit to replace floors. The same checklist notes that extra items can come up depending on the scope, so mention any wall, door or other work on the call.

How high can a new wood floor sit above the tile next to it in a business?

Under the 2010 ADA Standards, a change in level up to 1/4 inch can be a straight edge. Between 1/4 and 1/2 inch it needs a bevel no steeper than 1:2. Anything taller has to be ramped, so ask how the transition strip will handle the height before the wood is ordered.

Can the floor be done without closing the business for a week?

Often, yes. Fixr puts a typical install under 1,500 square feet at one to three days. Bona's Traffic HD data sheet allows foot traffic 24 hours after the last coat, with full cure at three days. A full sand and refinish takes longer, two to six days at HomeGuide.

Does a lobby or hallway floor above units need a sound underlayment?

It may. The Florida Building Code's sound section covers floors between a dwelling unit and a public area such as a hall, at IIC 50 and STC 50. The city's flooring checklist is written around condo units, so ask Building Inspections before choosing the underlayment for a common area.

Commercial Wood Flooring in Pompano Beach, FL

Typical cost: we found no guide that prices commercial wood floors separately, so HomeAdvisor's $6 to $25 a square foot installed is the usual yardstick. Buffing and a fresh coat run $1 to $2.50 at HomeAdvisor and Fixr.
Downtime: a space under 1,500 square feet loses one to three working days to a new install by Fixr's count, and two to six to a full refinish by HomeGuide's.
Permit: Pompano Beach's flooring checklist says commercial spaces don't need a permit to replace floors.
Edges: under the ADA standards, a floor edge may rise 1/4 inch straight up, or up to 1/2 inch with a 1:2 bevel.

Pompano Wood Flooring refers property managers and owners to a wood floor contractor for dining rooms, sales floors, offices, condo lobbies and rental units. Call or send the form with the floor area and the hours the space has to stay open, and ask for the walk-through outside business hours if the space is busy.

Commercial Wood Flooring by Type of Business

Each kind of business wears a floor differently and gives a crew different hours to work in. Bona's data sheet for its Traffic HD finish lists restaurants, offices, retail stores, hospitals and shopping malls among its intended uses, and recommends a third coat in heavy-traffic commercial areas.

Restaurant dining room with a satin-finished oak floor between wooden tables, early morning before opening

Restaurant dining rooms and bars

Wood belongs in the front of the house. The FDA Food Code, which Florida's restaurant rules adopt, wants floors that are smooth, durable and easily cleanable wherever the business operates. It requires nonabsorbent surfaces in food prep areas, walk-in coolers, dishwashing areas and toilet rooms, so plan where the wood ends and how the threshold at the kitchen door is finished.

Finish coats (Bona Traffic HD): two coats over a sealer, a third recommended for heavy commercial traffic.

Retail showroom with a long run of wide oak planks under display tables and track lighting

Retail shops and showrooms

A sales floor has to stay open, so ask whether the work can be split into sections. The ADA standards require floor surfaces in public areas to be stable, firm and slip resistant. Sheen is a choice too: the Traffic HD sheet runs from commercial extra matte (7 to 10 at 60 degrees) through satin and semi-gloss to gloss (65 to 70).

Quiet office suite with an oak floor, desks and a doorway into a carpeted room

Offices and medical suites

Ask whether an office can be done after hours or over a weekend. Doorways matter here: the ADA standards cap a new threshold at 1/2 inch high, and an existing or altered one at 3/4 inch if both sides are beveled no steeper than 1:2. Where wood meets carpet or tile, ask for the height difference on the plan.

Condo building lobby with a straight-laid oak floor, a seating area and glass entry doors

Condo lobbies, halls and clubrooms

Common areas are the association's job, not one owner's. The Florida Building Code's sound section, 1207, covers floor/ceiling assemblies between a dwelling unit and a public area such as a hall or stairway, at IIC 50 and STC 50. The city's flooring permit checklist is written around units, so ask Building Inspections how it treats a common-area floor above homes. The condo flooring page covers the unit permit.

Furnished vacation rental living room with an engineered oak floor, closed blinds and a ceiling fan

Vacation rentals and seasonal units

A rental that sits empty between guests still has to stay inside the humidity range flooring makers set for the life of the floor. The National Weather Service puts southeast Florida's summer season at a median of May 21 to October 17, the stretch when a closed unit with the air off is most at risk. A rental condo above another unit still needs the city's flooring permit.

Installer kneeling on a bare concrete slab and checking it with a moisture meter before a wood floor goes down

Why Pompano Beach homeowners call Pompano Wood Flooring

One local flooring contractor calls back, not a bidding list
Asking costs nothing and commits you to nothing
Ask for the slab moisture readings in writing
Florida doesn't license flooring: ask for the business tax receipt and insurance certificates

Scheduling Commercial Floor Work Around Opening Hours

Labor is the biggest part of a refinishing bill, up to 80% at HomeAdvisor, so the schedule moves the price as much as the wood does. Plan around these national figures:

New floor
One to three days for a two-person crew on areas under 1,500 square feet (Fixr).
Full sand and refinish
Two to six days, depending on size, coats and drying time (HomeGuide).
Buff and recoat
$1 to $2.50 a square foot, or $1 to $2 for a recoat alone, when the wood under the finish is still sound (Fixr).
Dust control
Dustless sanding adds about $2 a square foot at HomeAdvisor, worth it in a space that reopens the next morning.
Back in use
Depends on the finish; see the cure times by product before booking furniture or a reopening date.

Get the work hours, the area closed off each day and the payment schedule written into the contract.

Floor Heights, Thresholds and Transitions in Public Spaces

New wood often finishes at a different height from the tile, carpet or older floor beside it. In a business open to the public, the 2010 ADA Standards set the limits:

Up to 1/4 inch
The change in level can be a straight vertical edge.
1/4 to 1/2 inch
The edge has to be beveled, no steeper than 1:2.
Over 1/2 inch
The change has to be ramped.
Door thresholds
1/2 inch maximum, or 3/4 inch for an existing or altered threshold beveled on both sides.

Ask the contractor to measure the finished height of the new floor against every doorway and adjoining floor at the walk-through, and to name the transition piece for each one on the quote.

See baseboard installation for trim, reducers and thresholds.